Villefranche or Nice?
 

Hi,

We will be spending 2 days visiting Nice and Monaco. I have read lovely comments about Villefranche so was thinking on staying there. Should I spend the two nights in Villefranche and drive to Nice and Monaco? or should I stay in Nice and just do day trips to Villefranche and Monaco?

Thanks!

If you stay in Villefranche (which has a very nice beach) you don't need a car; you can take the train to both Monaco and Nice, avoiding parking hassles. The same would be true of Nice--train and bus service is excellent.

The bus service from Villefranche is very convenient, too.

I rented a villa in Villefranche a year ago.

A hotel that is popular is the Hotel Welcome.

Enjoy.........

Villefranche is lovely, but very small without much of a nightlife. If those things matter to you, you'd probably prefer Nice.

As the previous poster said, depends if you want a small town or city. Villefranche is lovely, small town. Nice is lovely, medium sized city.

Definitely stay in Villefranche-sur-mer. Nice is big and has become quite shabby in some parts.

Hotel Welcome is a good recommendation.

Have fun!

S

Villefranche. If your hotel recommendation is booked, try nearby St. Jean Cap Ferrat.

We were last in Nice in September 2004 and will return next October. Where has the city become shabby?

Yes, where is Nice shabby? I've been going there nearly every summer for the past ten years. I can possibly think of one area in back of the train station that might qualify, but that's pretty far from the typical tourist areas.

Perhaps, Swagmann meant the tramway construcion work that blocks the car traffic on the street from the railway station side straight down to Place Messena? The name may be Avenue Jean Medecin and there are Notre Dame church and Gallerie Lafayette on this street. It's been there since a few years and that's a mess! I hate the street because of that construction becasue it also makes the life of pedestrian streets so narrow.

Otherwise I have not noticed much difference in recent Nice.

Nice is a big city, can be the 4th/5th biggest of France after Paris, Lyon and Marseille with 2nd important airport after CDG. It's really up to your taste either take such a city or a small charming port village of Villefranche-Sur-Mer. I always choose Nice because it gives more possibilies in dinning and transportation (busses and trains - I don't drive) + other things about this sea side city in general.

> becasue it also makes the life of pedestrian streets so narrow.

Sorry, I forgot to edit. In meant to say : Because it also make the pedestrian parts of the street so narrow.

The least attractive part of Nice is as in most cities around the train station....but it is a very safe area. This area is dominated by the the north African population (Algerian, Moraccan, Tangierian etc) I spend a lot time in this part of town and have come to like the people very much who live and work here. I know some of the merchants here and

oops, sent message to soon. The point is I feel very comfortable in this area and there is no reason for anyone to feel otherwise. If I were not going to stay in Nice I would choose Beaulieu sur Mer instead of Villefrance. Train station and bus stops are much more convenient, supermarkets, all the shopping you need and it's just a short and beautiful walk to Villefranche or St.Jean, Cap Ferret.

Have fun.
Larry J

Thanks for the comments. We decided to stay in Villefranche - Hotel Patricia.

Hello Viajeros,
I am curious to know how you enjoyed your stay at the Hotel Patricia in Villefranche.
We too are considering a stay there for our family of 4 in July 2006.
many thx!

I'm also interested in the Hotel Patricia, as my family is staying there for 3 days the end of July.

My daughter and I just returned from a three-night stay in Nice. We took day-trips to both St. Jean Cap Ferrat and Portofino. We loved Nice, especially the old sections, and the promenada at the waterside. Personally, we would have been bored with an overnight at the other, smaller places, because you can easily see them in one-half day each. Especially if both our young adult 'children' had been along. With Nice there are so many choices, and we found it to be a very charming city. Not shabby in the least. The construction is a bit annoying, but easy to avoid. We loved the Hotel Le Grimaldi there, a four-star with very good rates, service and location.